This is a very important and at the same time effective method. It offers the possibility of postponing maternity for later in the future to women who face the risk to suffer damage to their ovaries’ function due to medical conditions (malignant or otherwise) or other gynecological diseases.
Another category of women who resort to methods of preserving their fertility are those who, at an early age choose to have their eggs frozen so that they can later, if necessary be able to become pregnant at an advanced reproductive age.
The methods commonly followed are:
- Cryopreservation of ovaries
- Cryopreservation of ovarian tissue.
- Harvesting immature ovarian eggs (oocytes) and maturing them in vitro (in the laboratory).
Fertility is also maintained in men using the sperm cryopreservation method, with, in recent years, the possibility of cryopreservation of testicular tissue as well.
Ideally, the expectant mother should either be less than 35 years old with no other causes of infertility (male or female), or over 43 years of age with multiple IVF failures.